Flower of Katana Garden
by Namikaze Kaiyoko
Summary: Kana has no family that she knows about. When a girl appears, claming to be her sister, can she trust her? Or will they both be killed by the psycopath after her?
1. Chapter 1

I reposted everything,since it was starting to get messy on my computer. Sorry it took so long...

Chapter 1

The wind was so bitter, it easily went through Kana's long sleeved thick woven shirt as though it was a thin silk tank top. The wind blew the bottoms oh her baggy jeans around her thin ankles, as she pulled her sleeves over her hand so that only four long fingers stuck out. She wrapped her arms around herself so that she could stick those fingers under her arms to keep them warm. Her teeth rattled and her breath puffed out as a visible vapor. The sky graciously withheld the snow that could easily be falling.

"How long are we gonna be here? It's really freezing!" Kana said.

"Here, now quit whining, we might be here for a couple of days until the return gets here." Ari said, tossing a red hoodie to her. Kana pulled it on and stuck her hand into the pockets, enjoying it's immediate warmth.

Ari could be weird sometimes, but then again so could Kana. Ari was a nice kid though and a good friend. she had the same sharp look to herself as Kana, as though she never missed anything. Then again they where both ninjas after all. Kana was about half a head shorter than Ari with shoulder length blond hair. Ari had long black hair that was braided and could be wrapped into a bun if need be. Senbon (or throwing needles) were used to hold up the bun and the senbon doubled as a weapon. Kana cocked her head as she looked at Ari.

"What? Something wrong?" Ari asked when she noticed.

"No. Just thinking." Kana responded.

"'Bout what?" Ari asked apprehensively.

"Why this is a mission. I mean, it's a stinking resupplying mission! We don't even get to do anything, never mind doing any thing interesting." Kana complained.

"Maybe it was ordering that take out food from that ramen stand. Orochi Academy is a secret ninja school. My question is why you dragged me into it? What did I do?"

"If I get into trouble, I take everyone I can with me." Kana replied bluntly.

"What did I ever do to you to deserve this?" Ari groaned.

"I've never gotten into trouble by myself. I just wanted the company, that's all. Besides, I've never seen you get in trouble so I figured that you were due for some."

"Oh, great. Lucky me." Ari grumbled, snuggling even further down into her warm cocoon of blankets. Kana stood for a while longer and then suddenly sat down, flopping herself onto the ground as was her way. Ari glanced in her direction, but otherwise ignored her.

Ari had always found Kana a little strange. Kana's parents had died when Kana was still young and her sister disappeared soon after that , so every one just presumed that she was dead. Nobody had known about Kana, so she ended up being raised by Shadow, a black panther that had lived with Kana's family prior to Kana's parent's deaths, along with Shadow's two cubs, Mute and Nuke. Kana had a special bond with those two and was almost always with them, even after the village "discovered" her almost three years ago. She had adapted quit rapidly, learning to speak properly, instead of the mixed growling and words she used, and she soon became the village star troublemaker. She was easygoing and didn't seem to get upset over very many thing. The whole of the village loved her and couldn't imagine life without her around, even though she drove them nuts.

She was very noticeable and stood out in a crowd. Being short had taught her that while blending in while in nature is a good thing, when you are already overlooked because of your height, you need to stand out a little or you might end up "hall-kill." Her style was very bright as was her hair. She wore a striped green shirt with her baggy jeans and the bright red hoodie Ari had just thrown over. Her hair was cut in a unique fashion, so that she could braid the two long strands that hung in front of her ears, which were dyed purple. Her bangs were bright green and numerous clips adorned her hair. Her long finger nails had been coated with a royal blue nail polish. She wore a light coating of makeup, in fact she hardly wore any at all. She had on mascara and eye shadow with a slight eye liner. Her lips had on a neutral shade of lip gloss and her cheeks looked as though they had blush on, but that also could have been from the cold. She was a nice girl even if she did look like she lived on the wild side of life.

But that wasn't all there was to her. She was strong, very strong. She had an outstanding aura, and a decent amount of control over it. She knew little genjutsu, or ninja illusions, but what she did know, she was good at. She possessed excellent ninjutsu, or ninja arts, and had an average ability on taijutsu, or physical arts. On her last stealth test alone she had scored a 90/100, a outrageously good score for some one who was still in the academy, especially since most people didn't get that high on stealth until they became jonin, or expert ninjas. She was far ahead of most people in the school, which the School Hidden in the Flames was considered the third top ninja school in the land, and it was little wonder why. For the first ten years of her life she was challenged and pushed to excel by the panthers she lived with. She was drilled in everything from providing her own food, to wrestling with Mute and Nuke almost everyday. Survival had been harsh, so she learned how to learn quick. But the sad thing was, most of this knowledge was based on her impressive mischief record.

Kana suddenly looked up, her body tensing up her body. Ari saw her slowly shake her head side to side as though trying to get a lock on a distant noise. Kana noticed that Ari was watching, but she didn't care. She was slowly trying to determine the distance and direction of the noise she had just heard.

_Shift, shift_. There it was again. Kana snapped her head in that direction. 15 to 20 meters and closing fast, north by north west. Approximately four people, possibly more, moving as fast and quietly as possible. Kana adjusted herself so that she would be ready to move or attack, depending on the situation. Ari followed suit.

The first person was a Flame ninja, Karuna-sama, a respected ninja in the village and the missions leader. Right behind her was Nara, a search and recovery specialist, and Ryu, who specialized in terrane surveillance and tactics. Ari and Kana fell into ranks behind them, immediately understanding the situation: rival ninjas had discovered them in their attempted mission. Kana and Ari would have to help complete the mission if they caught up.

_So much for my idea of this going to be a boring mission_, Kana thought bitterly. She could hear three others behind her keeping pace and steadily catching up. Kana relayed this information and Karuna-sama frowned. It was likely that they would be caught and killed for attempting to enter the rival village to retrieved a scroll, uninvited. After a few minutes the other ninjas finally caught up.

It was three genin from the Village Hidden in the Water. The School Hidden in the Water was considered the fourth best ninja school. Kana looked at Karuna. Karuna immediately understood. For Kana, this would be a welcome challenge then the kids at the school. These ninjas had already graduated from the village's school, and were probably at the same level of ability as Kana. Kana wanted to break ranks, in order to fight them.

"Just make sure you win, runt, and catch up safely. Don't let yourself get followed." Karuna barked, motioning for the others to follow her. One of the ninjas moved to follow them but Kana stopped him by throwing a kunai knife across his path.

"I'm your opponent now. You'll have enough of problem getting past me." Kana said.

"I don't think so runt. Your only a student. You don't have a chance of beating us, even in your wildest dreams." the one taunted.

"We see whose beating whom soon enough, loser." Kana barked back. "Don't think that you've got this won simply because your older. Over confidence is way over rated." She continued, dropping into her stance. The three started circling her. Kana watched as they circled her, thinking that they had the upper hand.

"If you guys are so sure of yourselves, then why are all three of you circling me. Three guys against one girl, really, after all your boasting you should really be taking me on one at a time, not that it will make much difference." she taunted again. She saw the face of the one in front of her go red. They stopped circling and each dropped into his own stance.

"You need to be knocked down a peg,_ runt_, and I'm gonna be the one to do it." the one who had gone red said.

"Bring it on, if you think you can take a girl." Kana retorted back. The guy turned a deeper red before he started to charge her. "Gonna have to do better than that." she chimed, easily avoiding his strike by circling around him. She hit a pressure point on his shoulder, causing it to be hit out of joint. He screamed from the pain, as his arm hung uselessly from his body.

"Your collar bone was also broken. I didn't hit that at half strength and I also pulled that. If that's all it's going to take to put you out of action, then you better leave before you get seriously hurt." Kana growled. "'cus I'm gonna get real serious here soon if you don't leave." The other two guys glared at her as their partner tried to pull himself off the ground with only one good arm. Kana dropped back into her stance and glared as he succeeded in dragging himself up.

"Leave her! She's mine." He shouted at them, glaring as well from both embarrassment and rage.

"You don't learn very quick do you?" Kana asked. "Fine then; School's in session!" The guy attacked again, drawing a kunai knife from his pouch. Kana avoided the blade and grabbed his attacking hand. She smirked as she took his momentum and used it to throw him into a nearby tree. The breath left his body with a sharp gasp and he fell to the ground again, still gasping for air. His two friends were emanating a deathly hot aura, which she could feel on her back as she looked down at her attacker. She easily matched it with the coolness of her own aura. Then suddenly they attacked her as well at the same time, kunai in hand. Just as the reached the point where she was standing though, she disappeared. They looked down to she her crouched there. Then she suddenly kicked up, landing a kick underneath each chin. The guys both fell back, one of them spitting out blood from the small nick he had bitten into his tongue.

"SHE'S MINE! SHE'S MINE!" The guy who she had winded screamed, having finally stood up after so long on the ground. "I TOLD YOU GUYS TO STAY OUT OF IT!"

"Bring it." She responded. " In case you haven't noticed, you guys are getting your butts handed to you. Your best chance would be to have all three of you attack at once." All three of them turned red this time.

"Your going to regret that one." The guy who had bit his tongue said. "Fine," the first guy said. "But remember. I'm going to be the one to finish her. Don't get in my way." "Your welcome to try, but I would have thought that you didn't want your other arm to get injured." Kana replied.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" He snapped back. The three of them circled her again. She dropped into her stance for a third time. _They've got no chance of ever defeating me, _She thought_. They're not learning from their mistakes, they're only getting worse_. They continued to circle her. Then suddenly all three attacked her at once. She easily avoided them, knocking each one out as she passed them.

Kana left, having no fear of being followed, seeing as she had just defeated the three boys who were intent on beating her. She did not hear the soft rustling of wings or see the dark shadow pass threw the trees. She was blind to her surrounding and her ears were ringing with happiness in the light of her recent victory.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kana easily caught up with the rest of the group. Together the group made it to the village, without being followed or found by any other rival ningas.

Kana talked the whole time about what she was going to do when she got home to Ari, who found it rather annoying after a while.

"I want a hot bath and a nice long nap. And after that, I'm going to fix something up to eat," she bragged.

"Isn't Rin-Oba-Chan comming to your house today? You should probably clean it up for her or she'll make you move in with her." Ari stated.

"I forgot that she said that she was going to pay me a visit! She did tell me that if I kept living like a slob, she was going to make me move in and keep me under her thumb. Mute and Nuke probably wouldn't like that very much. They hate being restricted, which is probably why I can't keep the house clean." Kana shighed before continueing. "It really does get annoying after a while," she finished.

Suddenly, two black streaks of lightning came, attacking Kana. She was licked and nuzzled by them, as they jumped around her. She grabbed the nearest one, wrestling it ot the ground.

"Mute! Nuke!" she squealed as she tussled with the two fur-balls.

Shadow, Muke and Nuke's mother, stepped into the open. Kana picked her arm out of Mute's mouth (she had been holding it gently) and climbed to her feet to her feet. Shadow's graying muzzle split into a smile as she saw all three of her charges. Kana went over and gave Shadow a hug around her neck. Shadow licked Kana's face and wrapped a paw around her back. Mute went over to join in the welcome.

The only distinct difference in the way Mute and Nuke looked was their front paws. Nuke's left paw was a pure white, while Mute's right paw was the one that was white. They also had different ways of handling situations. Mute was always the more aggresive one of the two, while Nuke was more gental in situations. Both would rather fight than roll over and die, and had a "Kill-or-be-Killed" instinct, but they both also handled the fight in their own way. They were like sisters to Kana and hated to be seperated from her.

Karuna clicked her tongue impatiently at Kana. They all needed to report back on th mission and fill out the required paperwork for filing. Karuna also needed to make a report on Kana's fight, so that conflicts with other villages were avoided.

"My apologies, Karuna-san," Kana said meekly. Nuke went over to Shadow, licking Kana's hans as she passed, but Mute stood with the intention of following. Kana opened her mouth to tell Mute "no" but Karuna interupted her.

"Kana, just let her come! We don't have time for any arguments for crying out loud. Just get your butt in motion." "Yes, Karuna-san"

Mute gave a low, happy sounding growl as she followed behind Kana to the Head Ninja's house. Kana also seemed rather happy, or she was at least smiling. Most people found it hard not to like Kana. She had a friendly nature and a warm, kind smile that just seemed to attract people to her. Her wild side only made it so that it was guaranteed that it would never be boring around her. But she hadn't always been like this. When she first started meeting people, she had a hard time responding to them, she didn't know how to interact. In those days she had been shy and quiet, preferring to spend most of her time at home. But with the help of Rin-Oba-Chan she started getting better with other people. Then Kin had asked Kana if she had wanted to go shopping and that turned into a beautiful friendship. Because of Kin's blatant openness about stuff, Kana was a little afraid of her at first. So Kin solved that problem herself. Kana eventually made friends with allot of people at school, including Hanabusa, Yuzuru, and Ari. The five always hung out together, and had helped Kana "enter the world" as they would say.

When the group reached the Head's house, Kana and Ari went to report about their assignment to their record keeper. Karuna reported to their keeper, and then asked Kana to recount the battle for her.

"Are you sure the only serious injury was the collar bone?" Karuna asked.

"Yeah. Other that that, the only thing they can actually complain about is a few bruises, couple of sprains, maybe an achy joint or two. I don't think we'll have any problems though because I don't think they want to admit that some of their male graduates got their butts handed to them by a girl under graduate though." Kana replied.

"If your sure than you can go home. Enjoy your bath." Karuna said, opening a nearby cabinet and pulling out a sheet of paper. Kana bowed respectfully and then left, Mute following her lead.

They reached their house at the edge of the village, just as it started to snow. Kana brushed snowflakes from her hair and eyes, then entered her house. "I'm home" she yelled to the house in general, before heading off towards the washroom. She started the water and then quickly cleaned her room, for when Rin-Oba-Chan came. She finished just as the water was ready, then got in to take her bath.

When she got out all fresh and wearing a baggy tee-shirt with baggy pajama pants, about a half hour later, she went into her bed room for to take a nap, only to find that Nuke had taken her just cleaned room, and, in five minutes, she had completely destroyed it. Kana groaned loudly, then she looked at the bed. Nuke had taken all the pillows and blankets and had pulled them into a sort of nest around her. Kana noticed that Nuke had done this in the middle of the bed, so that there was no way for Kana to sleep on the bed unless she could comfortablely fold herself in half. Kana sighed and then pulled a few pillows out from under Nuke, along with a blanket and threw it down onto the ground, then settled down to take her nap.

About a half hour later, which to Kana only felt like ten minutes, Mute was waking her. Kana groaned, then heard a faint knocking on the house door. She clambered to her feet sleepily, took notice that Nuke was missing from her "nest", and then shuffled into the front hall and opened the door.

A girl with bare feet was standing on the step in a powdering of snow. Kana stared at Kin before saying "I don't want to know," and closing the door.

But Kin was faster. She stuck her foot in the way of the door and shoved her head inside, snow falling from her short black hair with blond highlights. "No! No! No! You'll want to hear about this. I promise." Kin said slightly breathless and in a fast pace voice. Kana gave a resigned look and stepped aside to let Kin in. Kin continued talking "... I can see you just woke up. Ari told me that you were probably sleeping but I still had to see you. I see you still have that gaudy tee- shirt and ..."

Kin would have continued to talk, but Kana had grabbed a sock lying nearby and shoved it unceremoniously into Kin's mouth. Kin pulled it out with a disgusted look on her face. "Please tell me that was clean." she said in a wavering voice. Kana just smiled.

" Eww! That is gross!" Kin groaned throwing the sock at Kana. It landed on her head and Kana burst out laughing. "Don't worry, it was clean. I keep it lying around for when you come over like you did today, all excited and talking way too much." Kana said with a smile. Kin faked a frown and lightly punch Kana's shoulder. Kana acted hurt but then the two of them smiled. Kin sat down at the crowded kitchen table and Kana got them both a glass of water, and got down a bottle of aspirin for herself. "Headache," she explained as Kin gave her a questioning look.

"Any way, do you want to know what happened?" Kin asked as she accepted the glass of water. Kana swallowed the pills before she responded.

"You're going to tell me whether I want to know or not, so my opinion doesn't make any difference." Kana replied. "But I'm glad I'm taking the aspirin now; otherwise I'd need it later."

Kin gave a joking hurt look but then smiled and launched into her story. Kana could pick up that it involved a recent shopping trip a cute boy and Risu, who considered herself to be Kana's rival, even though she wasn't even in Kana's league. Kana sighed, Risu had been flirting again, as usual. She was determined to prove herself better by getting a boyfriend before Kana. Kana drifted out of the story, no longer paying attention, and sank into her own thoughts. Suddenly, Kin must have noticed that Kana was no longer listening, because Kin stopped talking. Kin watched Kana for a moment or two, and when she decided that Kana was listening again she asked Kana about the fight.

"Has anyone ever told you that you lack subtly?" Kana asked.

Kin sighed. "That and the ability to shut my mouth. I hear that from my mom all the time." she replied. "It's probably a skill I should really learn. Anyway, what happened? All I heard was that you and Ari were assigned to help resupply the reckon group that was recovering the lost scroll or something, so how did you end up in a fight? Karuna is supposed to be the best at doing these kinds of missions without getting caught."

"Maybe someone tipped off the castle, or maybe Karuna was just unlucky or something, I don't know. All I know is that we got ambushed by a bunch of water genin, who now have had the distinct pleasure of having had the snot beat out of them by me." Kana replied.

"Maybe the bad luck was you. You do tend to find trouble everywhere you go." Kin suggested jokingly.

"I don't find trouble. It stalks me. I don't do much more then stand around and somehow something goes wrong and I get blamed." Kana sighed.

"In other words, you're cursed and so if anything starts to go wrong around you, get away before you're affected." Kin said without really thinking.

"You got it." Kana sighed again. Kin realized what she had said and started to apologize but she noticed that Kana wasn't paying attention anymore. Both of Kana parents had died and then her sister abandoned her, and who knew if she was even still alive, all before Kana's first birthday. Kin decided that she needed to change the mood and then smiled as a thought came to her.

"You child, need a shopping trip!" Kin said, standing up suddenly and pointing a finger at Kana.

Kana looked stunned and then outraged and amused. "You just want an excuse to go back to the mall. And what's with this 'child' business? I happen to be a full six months older than you." Kana said loudly.

"Yes I do. Anyway, come on. I'll buy you something." Kin said. A wide grin spread onto Kana's face. It looked innocent enough but to Kin it was the epitome of malicious and evil.

"Uh-oh. Kana, I know that look. Kana, no, don't do this! Bad Kana! Don't look at me like that." Kana spluttered nervously.

"What look?" Kana asked, giving her head a slight tilt to make the smile look even more innocent, her grin growing. "I think your right Kin. Maybe I should go with you to the mall. I've been wanting to buy something lately. Just wait for me to get changed."

Kin groaned. "So much for my allowance." She grumbled as she slumped over and laid her head into her arms.

Kana changed quickly, with a speed that only came to ninjas. She shoved on a jean miniskirt with leggings, followed by a long-sleeved shirt with black and weight stripes. She then pulled on a short sleeved red hoodie on top. She quickly checked her hair and makeup in the mirror, then ran out to join Kin. Kin was selecting a pare of Kana's shoes. Kana pulled on a paire of black boots and Kin selected a pair of high heels. Then, together, they hurried on to the mall.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Kana! Kin! I was hoping to run into you here!" said a tall girl with long black hair. She was coming out of a bookstore, with a bulging bag on the verge of breaking, and clutching five large, leather bound books entitled _Shinobi Skills: A Guide to the Secret Arts_. Her eyes were wide behind her glasses. "Kana, check this out! I saw this and thought of you immediately." Yuzuru said, placing the thick books down and digging around in the overstuffed bag. She pulled out yet another thick book and handed it to Kana.

"_Famous Ninja Clans: A Genealogy_." Kana read aloud from the cover.

"Looked cool. It also has some of your family in it too, along with a brief history. I thought you would like it." Yuzuru said.

"Yeah. Hey thanks Yuz. This is awesome." Kana said, flipping through the pages, stopping every couple of pages to read a paragraph or two. "Thanks. Hey, do you want to come with us? We're off to the Armory."

"Thanks, but I can't. I have too much stuff already, plus I have to cook today. My parents are on a mission together, and they'll be gone all week, so it's only me and Nii-san (big brother)." Yuzuru replied.

"It's cool. Catch ya later then." Kana said and she and Kin headed off to the armory while Yuzuru navigated her way to the exit.

The armory was only called "The Armory" by ninjas, especially academy students. It's real name was Utori's Secret Arts Emporium. It sold normal weapons, such as kunai knifes, shrunken throwing stars, and senbon needles; scrolls that revealed how to perform secret and mysterious jutsus; and a selection of special weapons such as fan blades, short swords, and different specialized blades, including the one that had caught Kana's eye last time she was in there.

"The flame glave; extendable handle, light weight, easy to maneuver, aerodynamic, and very sharp. It's a deadly weapon." the shop clerk said. "The only problem would be finding someone to teach you how to use it in the aria. Glaves aren't a normally used weapon because of their size. Most of the offers we've received have been from blade collectors and we normally don't sell to them, unless we can't get someone who will use it to buy it."

"It does seem a shame to let someone who is never going to use it, only hang it on a wall buy it. Kinda beats the purpose of owning it, doesn't it?" asked Kana turning to look at Kin.

Kin wasn't paying attention though. She had a blank look on her face as she stared at a shelf, tears streaming from her eyes. She was also muttering a song to herself. Kana recognized it as "que sera sera" after a short time.

"She is horribly off-tune." Kana said with only mild concern.

"Will she be all right?" asked the clerk. Kin was now swaying on the spot, and appeared to be drunk.

"She'll be fine. She's only playing with my mind and she's doing a very bad job of it anyway." Kana replied. "Anyway, how much?" Kana asked pointing at the glave.

"We have a 100 offer from a 'user' and a 250 offer from a 'collector'"

"Who would be me." came a high, whiny sounding voice. "Risu." Kana said turning around, and sure enough, Risu was standing there, flanked by her two groupies, Ana and Yatsu.

"Hello to you too, Kana. How was your punishment? Dreadfully boring, I suppose," Risu sneered, which still somehow managed to sound more like a whine then anything else.

"You're always behind the time Risu, especially in fashion. But I thought that even you would have heard by now. I was in a fight." Kana said in retort. "But then again maybe you wouldn't have heard. It's only the whole village that's talking about it." Risu blushed and Kana continued on. "That's right. I was allowed to beat up three graduates from the Water school."

Risu's blush deepened. "How did you manage to get into a fight?" She snapped. "You only went on a resupplying mission." Her voice was rising with her temper. She must not have realized how loud she was as she continued. "You messed up all my hard work! You're impossible! Why can't I beat you?" Risu gasped as she realized what she had said. Kana smiled cooly at what Risu had let slip.

"So you framed me. That's why I ended up with a low mission. It wasn't just the ramen. I knew that would only be worth a couple of laps at most. So, what am I doing that I don't know about?" Kana asked, her smile getting wider with every sentence. Risu glared at her.

"None of your business." Risu snapped again. She turned away, sticking her nose up.

"It's amazing how you sound like you'er whining no matter what you say," Kana pushed nonchalantly. That was it. Risu whipped herself around, aura raging, and took two steps forward. Kana felt the threat in her aura and matched equally with a cool blast from her own aura. Then she raised her power, wiping out Risu's. Risu took a step back, intimidated by the intense power. Then she smirked and looked at the store clerk.

"I'll give you 150 more." She said smugly.

"Sorry, I can't sell to collectors. Our policy is against it." The clerk said.

"150, use." Kana said, knowing that she would more than likely win this match. Kin had stopped singing and was now crying.

"I'll give you 200 more!"Risu shouted.

The clerk ignored her. She took a quick glance at Kin then looked back at Kana. "If you have the money, it's yours," she said. Kana reached into her purse and pulled out the money. She handed it to the clerk who then took the money, entered it into the cash register and pulled out a brace for the weapon. She handed both the weapon and the brace to Kana. "This comes with the weapon." she said. "It has a clasp release," she explained showing the small device on the strap to Kana. She also pointed out what the two smaller straps attached to the latch where for. "They allow for the clasp to be released quicker. When you throw the clasp open, it drops the smaller straps, which are attached to the glave's handle. The straps also have a slip grip for better hold."

"Pretty cool." Kana said. She released the straps, slid them onto the handle and tightened the slip grip and then slid the body brace on. She then latched the glave into its position. Then she sank into a stance, released the clasp, and swung the glave outward, as though practicing what she would do in a fight.

"That seems to work really well," the clerk said. "Yes, I think it will work nicely in a real battle."

Kin was staring in disbelief that Kana had just bought the glave with her own money. Her eyes were still a little red from all the crying. "We can send it to you or you can take it now. I should warn you that if you take it now, they probably won't let you into other stores with it." the clerk said.

"I'll take it now. I don't have much money left so I probably won't be doing anymore shopping anyway." Kana said, replacing the glave into the latch. "Kin, are you coming?"

Kin snapped out of her trance and started to glare at Kana. "If you had the money for it in the first place then why did you look like that when I told you that I would buy you something?" Kin grumbled.

"One, your face was hilarious, totally worth it. Two, I really am going to hold you to that promise you made me." Kana said, her grin starting again.

"Oh no! Don't tell me that you mean..." Kin started, sounding devastated.

"That's right! To the food court!" Kana replied. "And I am hungry!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The only thing that rivaled Kana's skills as a ninja was her caloric intake. In only one meal, the girl could eat enough food to feed three people well for four days, and she would have it all burned off within five hours. Today her meal included three fruit, yogurt, and nut parfaits; two double cheeseburgers; four milkshakes; five large waffle fries; two slices of chocolate cream pie; and a sunday. Kin just had water.

"Why did I have to treat you to lunch. It's not fair." Kin took a sip of her water then sighed. " Even the water has a sour taste in my mouth."

"Ya sure you don't want any?" Kana asked, offering Kin a bag of waffle fries. Kin groaned and put her head down on the table.

"No thank you. I had to pay, remember. The hole in my pocket must be huge." She grumbled into her arm.

"I think it's a hole in your head actually." Kin said, taking a sip of vanilla milkshake.

"Wow! I never thought I 'd see the day when she was too tired to even talk." came a voice from behind Kana. Kana dropped her head back to look at the new comer.

"Oh, hey Hanabusa! It's only you." she said. Hanabusa was a tall girl. She was about six foot two inches, and had long medium brown hair. She was wearing a zip up jacket, over a plain, green long sleeved shirt. She also ware flared jeans, and she was wearing white ballerina flats. She looked really tall, especially next to Kana or Kin. Kin was five foot three inches, and Kana was shorter by two whole inches.

The tall girl sat down next to the blonde girl with good graces, and pulled a carton of waffle fries towards her.

"Hands off, their mine!" Kana said as she noticed the food being pulled away from her. "Some people have no respect for other people's things." Kin actually burst into tears and Kana gave a satisfied smile, digging back into her food with renewed vigor.

"Hey, you've got four others! I think you can let go of one container." Hana looked over at Kin. "Why don't you eat some, I mean, it's not like she's going to bite you of something." Hana asked Kin, offering her a waffle fry. Kin threw Hana a dirty look and dumped her head back into her arms with a groan. "Let me guess. Kin dug herself into a hole and then offered to take you shopping in order to make it up."

"That's right" Kana said. "It's just about the story of her life. Hey, you going to finnish those?" She asked, reaching for the fries.

"Of course I'm gonna eat these! Brat!" Hana responded, pulling the fries out of reach. "You're really greedy when it comes to food, you realize that?"

"I can't help it if I'm always hungry. It must be genetic or something." Kana said, a slightly annoyed.

"You've got four more right in front of you." Hana said, pointing at the boxes.

"Oh, yeah." Kana said, as though seeing them for the first time.

"'Oh' is right, ya goof-ball." Hana retorted, shoving another fry in her mouth.

"Should have known, Kana's in the food court." Ari said, joining the group. She sat down with good graces next to Kin. "Looks like Kin was the big spender this time!"

"How did you figure we were here?" Hana asked, seemingly clueless. "Two and two together. Kana equals food, which can translate to food court. Process of elimination."

Kin had started wailing at this point, completely devastated.

The group soon finished, with Kana only lost a sunday and the fry container, and the group headed out to explore the rest of the mall. Ari picked up a few hair care products, while Hana got all excited about the exotic plants display, and ended up buying some of the seeds on sale. Kana explored the clothing, and even though she bought nothing, she was able to put together some very cute outfits. Kin, being broke and depressed, bought absolutely nothing.

"Hey! Let's all go to Kana's house." Hana suggested. Ari agreed.

"Well, you guys can all stay the night, if you can find a way to sleep with Mute and Nuke around." Kana said. "I'll make stir-fry." Everyone perked up at hearing this. Kana's stir-fry was always good. She wasn't always the best when it came to cooking, her policy was 'if it doesn't kill me then it must be edible' , and she was trained not to be too picky about her food, with the whole raised by panthers and eating raw meat thing, so she really didn't have much when it came to domestic skills. But if there was one thing Kana could make, it was stir-fry. Somehow, she could never mess it up. "So, do you guys want chicken or beef?"

"Chicken of course!" Kin said. She had perked up when she herd the word "stir-fry". It was her favorite food, and she never missed a chance to eat Kana's. "That was a speedy recovery." Kana said, throwing Kin a smile. "Either way, we need to stop by the market place. I'm running low on food."

The market was never crowded around this time of day. People were already home eating dinner and those who were at the mall never came here unless ordered by a parent. But since Kana lived alone, she had learned to shop for herself, and she found this time more preferable. She quickly picked up the items she needed, and was heading to grab the last item on her list, rice, when she stopped short, half way to picking it off the shelf.

"Risu" she murmured, almost completely inaudible. Kana's mind automatically went into overdrive and instincts took over.

"Ari, above you!" Kana said, without even looking. Ari, trusting Kana, retaliated, canceling the primary attack, and Kana did a flip, avoiding the shuriken that were headed for her in the secondary. Kin, who had been holding the glave to make shopping easier for Kana, tossed her the weapon. Kana caught it with one hand, and looked up at the ceiling. "Getting pretty brave, attacking me in broad daylight with my friends nearby." She said in a loud voice. Ari put her hands into her pack, a determined look on her face. "Ari, don't. You'll terrorize the whole store." Ari reluctantly withdrew and empty hand.

"Their directly above us." Kin said. Her "echolocation" was a useful technique. She would make a quiet noise, such as clicking her tongue or humming a note, and add her aura to it. She would then read the rebounding to map out an aria, find enemies, she could even follow aura patterns.

"Thanks, any plant life up there?" Hana asked, sounding only mildly interested. Unlike her two friends, she had no quarrel with Risu, but she was fiercely loyal to her special people, and would help them.

"Some mold" Kin answered immediately. "Will it work?"

A devious grin met Hana's face and she looked at the ceiling, her aura rising. "Yup." She responded, her hands forming her sign. Hanabusa's gift was with plants, she could cause them to grow and even move, simply by attaching her aura to them. She had a talent for causing huge amounts of damage, with the simplest of flower petals. Hana's lips moved as she focused. "Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it . . . and . . . now."

As if on cue, high-pitched screams reached the ears of the four girls. They moved from the aria quickly, grabbing the rice they needed, and headed for the check out line, as a store manager and security personnel headed to scene.

"Score: Kana, two; Risu, zero." Kana said. "They honestly should know better. I spent the first ten years of my life hunting wild animals and playing with two oversized kittens, who do not know how to hold back. I mean, come on! Did they really expect to sneak up on me?"

"Apparently, they did. They aren't very subtle, are they." Ari replied. "And they're training to become ninjas. I mean, what would happen if Risu broke a nail? Any mission she was on would be forfeit. That would be horrible!"

"Come on guys, this isn't really nice, and Risu is already mad at Kana, so maybe we should lay off for a bit." Hana said.

"We're not being nice? You just set a bunch of 'living mold' on them." Kin argued back. "Don't be lecturing us!"

"They should be glade that that is all I did. And I do have a set of morals you know. . ." Hana shot back.

"Both of you, quit it." Kana said, getting tired of the bickering.

"Maybe we should just leave them here." Ari mumbled to Kana. "If their going to bicker like some old married couple, then why don't we let them do it in a store instead of your nice, quiet home."

"Let's just get checked out. If they follow, they follow, and if they annoy Mute or Nuke too much, they'll chase them away." Kana growled, an air of exasperation around her. Ari agreed and she followed to the check out line.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

By the time they had all reached Kana's house, Kin and Hanabusa had both retreated into a simmering silence.

"I'll take Hana; you work with Kin." Kana muttered to Ari. "Try to get her in a better mood."

"Why do I have to take the blabber mouth?"

"The snow is really starting to get deep!" Kana stated.

"You're avoiding the question." Ari grumbled.

"Do you want to die of food poisoning?" Kana asked, throwing Ari a look. If most of Kana's cooking was bad, it was at least edible, even if it did taste funny. Kin's cooking could kill. It was so bad, the group knew that stray dogs avoided it.

"Good point." Ari agreed. "Fine, I'll take Kin."

"Hanabusa," Kana called, walking up to the tall brunette.

"Yeah?" She responded, sounding annoyed.

"I'm going to need some help in the kitchen. Can you help me, please?" Kana asked, sounding completely innocent.

"Sure, whatever."

"That's the spirit." Kana grumbled sarcastically as she unlocked the front door. She stepped into the front hall and automatically called out "I'm home!" She then turned and invited her friends in. "Sorry if it's messy. I'm sure Mute and Nuke took the firstopportunity to mess the house up as soon as I left."

"Must make it hard to keep this place clean, with those two around," Ari said.

"You have no idea," Kana responded. " We're talking virtually impossible."

"That's right, you don't take long distance trips, do you?" Kin said, temporarily forgetting her silence.

"If I did, I would come home to find the house in shambles." Kana said, kicking off her shoes. "Not a very appealing image."

"No, I would guess not." Hanabusa said, following Kana into the kitchen. Mute was lying beside a slightly open window, white snowflakes drifting down, showing boldly against the black fur. Kana crossed the room and closed the window. She shooed Mute out of the kitchen; then cleared a place on the cluttered table for the bags. In the process, she knocked over a couple of magazines and a piece of paper that was sitting on top drifted to the floor. Kana picked it up and read it.

"Oh, it's from Rin-Oba-Chan." Kana said.

"What does it say?" Hana asked.

"Umm . . . 'I left the soup I brought for you in the fridge, and picked up your laundry. Will bring it back on Monday. Clean your room.'" Kana read.

"She does your laundry?" Hana asked, picking the letter up. "Wow, she's got really neat hand writing. . ."

"It's either she does it, or no one does. Mute and Nuke won't let me do it here, the machines make too much noise, and they steal most of the socks as they fold them."

"Must be hard, being the only one in the household with opposible thumbs." Hana remarked.

"Not really. Shadow taught us all to be sufficient. Mute and Nuke just like messing with people's heads." Kana said in reply. She started pulling stuff out of the bags and put it away. " If they really want anything, they can get it themselves, they'll find a way. They always do. I mean, they learned how to use an electric can opener easily enough."

"Have you seen them?" Hana asked, sounding amazed.

"Not really, but I hear them and every now and again, I will find an empty can that I don't remember opening. And they leave the top of the can on the magnet."

"Very discreet." Hana remarked sarcastically.

"You have no idea." Kana groaned. "The only rule that Shadow helps enforce is the 'no dead animals in the house'. I don't want to know how bad the house would be if we didn't. It's a strict, no exceptions rule, from the both of us."

Just then Ari opened the door to the kitchen. "Hey, Kana, less talking, more cooking. Kin's getting hungry and I don't know how much longer I can distract her."

Kana and Ari exchanged worried glances. A hungry Kin was just as dangerous as a hungry Kana. "Okay, we'll speed it up." Kana said as she whipped out a frying pan, poured some oil in it and heated it up. Then they both went to work, opening the cans of pre-cut vegetables, cooking the rice, and cutting the meat.

A girl with long brown hair held her arm out as a black raven flew lower. It landed on her arm and cawed loudly, then ruffled it's wings slightly and gave the girl's ear a gentle nip.

"So, Kana is still alive? Good, good." She smiled, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously. Her eyes met the pure black of the raven's eyes, and she pet it gently. "Thank you, Spirit. Perhaps it's time I paid my little sister a visit." She looked around, no longer smiling. "But for now, It seems we have some uninvited guests." She dropped into her stance as she was surrounded by a group, wearing nothing but black. Spirit circled her head as she observed the group, cawing loudly at being disturbed.

"Tatsukage, Katana. Today we will defeat you, fulfilling Sesshomaru-sama's wishes," came a high pitched, feminine voice.

"You're welcome to try, Makokoro. You're welcome to try." Katana replied, sounding seriously bored.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Food's ready!" Kana said, bringing in the stir-fry and the rice. Hanabusa followed with soda and chips. The table had already been set and Ari was watching Kin wrestle with Nuke. Mute padded out of a corner tonuzzle against Kana. Shadow was in the same corner, lying down, her tail flicking the air as she watched her daughter mess around. She picked up her head in a greeting to her charge, and then laid it back down.

"Your house is pretty cold, especially in the winter." Ari said, taking a nearby gray blanket and wrapping it around her shoulders. "I thought you didn't like the cold."

"I've never really noticed, mainly because I'm always near Mute, Nuke, or Shadow when I'm inside, so, I've never really needed a heater. That, plus I could never afford to buy one." Kana replied.

"I'll donate one for the cause." Ari grumbled, wrapping her warm blanket even tighter around her.

"Why do you care? You always sleep under twentyblankets anyway," Kin teased.

"For your information, I only sleep under nine blankets, and that is not the point here!" Ariretaliated.

"Really? I honestly thought it was only like eight!" Kin said, sounding serious.

"I hate you; you know that?" Ari growled.

"Hey! Before the food gets cold." Kana said loudly, hoping that would distract them.

"Food!" Kin shouted, jumping for the table.

"Can we use our mission voices? Please?" Ari grumbled.

"Didn't you skip the 'dull roar' stage?" Hana asked.

"That was a 'dull roar'. She's always two decibels louder than she should be." Ari responded.

By this time, Kin was at the table, jabbing her chopsticks at the food. Kana was using her own to deflect Kin's attempts.

"If you can't get through my guard, then you must not be very hungry," Kana said smirking.

"You're mean!" Kin whined back.

"Not my fault if your weak." Kana replied lazily.

"Smells good, Kana!" Ari said, joining the rest at the table. She grabbed Kin's hand and pulled the chopsticks out of them. She then placed them on the table in front of the plate, like everyone else's. Kana, noting that the danger to her food was gone, followed suit and laid down her own.

"Kin, why don't you do it this time?" Ari said.

"Why me?" Kin complained, sounding outraged.

"The sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can eat." Hana said grumpily.

Kin sighed and turned herself to face Kana directly. "Thank you for making the food." She said, bowing.

"You're welcome. Dig in everyone. I'll be insulted if you don't eat it all!" Kana said sounding semi-enthusiastic.

Kana had started eating before anyone could even pick up their own chopsticks.

After dinner, everyone helped cleaned up the house. Most of the cleaning involved cleaning up some of the messes Mute and Nuke had left behind. This normally didn't take very long and they had the job finished by the time Kana had finished the dishes. The kitchen really was a one person only work space.

After this was done, a small period of silence and boredom followed, which ended when Mute decided that Kin's slipper would make a very nice new chew toy. Chaos ensued, as Kin chased Mute around demanding her slipper back. Then Nuke joined in, and the game turned to keep away.

This proved very entertaining, especially when Kin fell onto her back, laughing so hard she was actually crying, which ruined her cries of "Give me back my slipper!" Kana's face had gone red, and she had reached the point where she fell beside Kin, laughing just as hard, tears streaming from her eyes, and the only sounds coming from her mouth were the gasps she took in-between her hard laughter. She looked over and saw Kin lying beside her, looking back at her.

"Hey," she said, her face still red and her eyes still leaking. "How was your trip?"

"Jerk! Give me back my slipper!" Kin yelled, taking off her other slipper and whacking Kana with it. Kana just continued to laugh. Suddenly Mute grabbed this slipper, but Kin held on. The two glared at each other, trying to stare the other one down. Kin moved her hand to get a better grip, but in that moment, the slipper left, Mute having taken it and run.

Kin sat there for a minute, stunned. Then she stood up and and ran after Mute.

"No fair! Now she has both my slippers!" Kin yelled, as she followed the panther out of the room.

By this point, Ari, the normally composed one, had joined Kana on the floor, both having silent fits of laughter. Hanabusa was still standing, but just barely: she was holding on to a cabinet for support and she was still having problems.

After a while, Kana regained herself and stood back up.

"I better go help her or she'll never get her slippers back." Kana said, her face still red from laughing so hard. She pushed herself up and ran after them, out into the snow.

"It's cold!" came Kin's voice. Kana blinked, trying to get her eyes used to the sudden dark. The snow had stopped falling, but it was still ankle deep. Kana snuck up behind Mute, who was holding a slipper, and tackled her. They rolled around in the snow, until Kana finally retrieved the slipper and bopped Mute on the muzzle with it.

Kin had gotten a hold of the other slipper, and was now involved in a tug-of-war game with Nuke. Nuke was growling playfully. Kana snuck around behind Nuke and grabbed her sides. Nuke yowled with surprise and dropped the slipper. Kana threw the slipper to Kin, just in time to get tackled by Mute. Nuke quickly joined in the pileup. Kin managed to pick her way out of the snow and onto the porch.

"Stupid panther! Don't make me...Ow! No biting!" Kana's battle cries could be heard as the girl rolled around in the snow with the two black, oversized kittens. Mute broke away and ran back to the porch and sat down next to Kin. This proved not to be the smartest move as Kin reached over and whapped Mute over the head.

"Thanks to you, my slippers are all wet now," She said, laughing at the panther's wounded pride.

"She does tend to drool a bit." Kana said as she joined them on the porch. She had obviously beaten Nuke with out Mute there to complicate things. Snow was clinging to her hair and she was shivering slightly from the cold. She sat down and Mute laid her head on Kana's lap. Nuke padded over to join them and laid behind her, circling her body to conserve heat, and snuggling to help keep the petite girl warm. Kin laid down next to Mute, a truce already made, and enjoyed the heat as well. Ari, Hanabusa, and Shadow joined them, bringing blankets to help keep everyone warm. The silver light of the full moon glistened off the snow, causing everything to have a surreal glow. Kana started to relax when she noticed a slight movement in the enhanced shadows caused by the moon and snow.

"Anybody else see that?" Kana asked, staring directly at the spot, trying to determine whether the movement was real or not.

"It was probably just a rabbit." Hana said, drawing a blanket around her.

"Couldn't have been a rabbit. Way too large," Kana said, now scanning the surrounding aria, her senses all on high alert. The tree line spread around the whole house, hiding it from view of the main road. If any one wanted to invade the village, this was the ideal spot to do it from. Suddenly, a girl burst from the shadows, clutching her right arm. She had long brown hair, it went down to around her waist. Her crystal blue eyes held a clear determination in them, causing them to shine in the ethereal lighting. Scarlet stained white as they could all see that the arm she was holding was bleeding severely. Only Kana's sharp eyes could make out the deep gash being held shut under the left hand in the dim lighting. Her face was unnaturally pale and she was staggering slightly.

"Hana! Go get your med kit!" Kana said jumping up as the interloper rushed forward to meet the ground. She caught the girl before she could hit the dirt as Hana ran off to fetch the needed box. Kana rolled the older girl over onto her back. The girl was taller than Kana, but still on the short size. It was obvious that she was older. The two sets of blue eyes met, and, before the girl blacked out completely, her lips parted and a single word escaped her, almost like a breath.

"Kana."


End file.
